Welcome Home : I Hate You
by Spacefille
Summary: Takes place 2 weeks after the 2007 movie. Now that they don't fight anymore, their relationship has hit an uncomfortable unknown place. Leonardo tries to get closer to his brother and learn more than he intended to... Raph x Leo. Slash.


**Title**: Welcome Home (I hate you)  
**Author** : Marie (Spacefille)  
**Rating** : Mature. m/m pairing.  
PWPish. Oneshot. (Wanted to be an epic, but I fought it down.)  
**Disclaimer** : The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and all affiliated with them do not belong to me. I am not making any money off of the following work of fiction.

-

Setting : right after the 2007 movie.

-

Master Splinter had ordered them to train again, to be prepared for whatever it was that the Foot had planned. The responsibility fell on his shoulders, like it always did, to get his brothers back into shape. Luckily it wasn't that hard this time… Raphael had merely nodded when he told him they were heading to the surface to spar, and Michaelanglo was beyond elated to have something to do that didn't involve birthday parties. Surprisingly it was Donatello who gave him trouble. When Leo told Donatello's door that they were heading out, the purple clad turtle had called out "just a minute!" Ten minutes later it was obvious nothing of the sort was going to occur.

He had been about to go in and reason with the resident genius, when Raph pushed him aside and invited himself into Donatello's room, shutting the door behind him. From outside both he and Mikey could hear as Raphael threatened to smash something if Don didn't come out. He emerged triumphant a minute or so later, followed by a grumbling Don.

Don was still grumbling 10 minutes later as they trudged through sewer gunk to get to their favorite exit to the surface. Something about bilateral semiconductor something or other, which he didn't understand at all.

"Will you quite your whining," Raph snapped once he had had enough. "Master Splinter says we need to train an' I don't see why you get ta have a break an' we don't. Your…" He paused. "Whatever the hell that thing was… is _fine_, you can finish fixing it when we get back."

Leo suppressed as smile at that and wondered yet again at Raph's change of attitude. He hadn't been abrasive for a week now, ever since the night they had first gotten back from Winters' corp.

They had all been exhausted when they got home that night. Donny and Mikey had fallen asleep pretty much right away, curled against each other in Mikey's room, but Leonardo couldn't wind down. Neither could Raphael it seemed, as the other had gotten himself something to eat out of the fridge and settled down at the table. Leo had ignored him as he paced the lair slowly, going in circles as he thought, turning the events of the last day or so over and over again in his mind.

Raph had watched him from the table as he finished his food, eyebrow raised, idly swinging a leg back and forth as he pushed his chair back.

"You should sleep." He said finally, yawning and stretching as he brought the chair down again with a thump.

Leo had shook his head and kept on walking… that is until Raph wandered over to the couch and flopped down in front of the TV. He surfed TV stations with the volume turned down so low it was nearly on mute. It took a bit but Leo finally slowed then came to a halt. He sat down on the far chair carefully, eyes drawn to the TV.

When he woke up again the TV was off and Raph had disappeared somewhere, leaving him blissfully asleep on the chair.

-

Despite the relief of not arguing with Raph any more, he found himself at a bit of a loss. He was so used to Raphael acting up that he didn't know what to do when every thing he said to him didn't cause a fight. Now the conversations between them had faded to nothing but one syllable words.

It was two weeks after their battle on the rooftops when he tried again to have a conversation with Raph. At breakfast that morning he asked him how he was.

Raph merely shrugged. "Good," He replied, gazing out into the living area where Master Splinter was watching his soap operas.

"So, uh…" Leo trailed off, uncertain. He realized he had nothing else to say to him, a fact that bothered him greatly.

Raphael turned his head once he realized that Leo wasn't going to continue and raised an eyeridge. "Yeah?" He asked. There was no offense on his face. He only looked kinda bored.

Leo's brow furrowed, but then he forced a smile. "Do you, uh, want to spar later?" He asked. If Raph accepted it would be the first time they sparred one on one since two weeks previous…

Raph shook his head. "Going out with Casey today," He said, getting up from the table abruptly. He paused and managed a half smile. "Later tonight?" He offered.

"Sure!" Leo replied, putting on a fake grin. It faded as Raphael turned away.

-

He didn't expect to find waiting until Raphael came home again to be so nerve wracking. He kept on turning their last confrontation over and over again in his mind. Raph had bested him, sure, but that wasn't really what was bothering him. Or was it? He wasn't fighting to kill, Raph was. Or was he? He had pulled that strike at the last second…

He wondered how much stronger Raph was going to be with all of his armor was off. He was sure he could handle it, and forced doubt out of his mind.

Raph stayed out all day. Leo meditated, paced the lair, had a talk with Mikey about what it was like being a birthday party clown, and went back to meditating.

When Raph finally came home, Mike and Don had already gone to bed. He jerked out of his meditation when he heard Raphael's heavy footfalls at the entrance. He didn't move from his position on the floor but listened to the sound of his brother walking through the main area. He heard him yawn and grumble something. The he heard him turn on the kitchen sink tap. He shut off the tap, a plastic glass clattering in the sink. He walked across the floor towards the TV, paused, then continued, his footfalls growing closer.

He realized his heart was pounding in his chest and his breathing was off, which was all very bad for his ninja training. He forced his senses back in line, breathing deeply a couple times on purpose. 'Relax,' He mentally commanded himself.

"Hey."

He refused to startle. Instead he just stood. He blew out his candles and put them away before turning to face him.

Raphael stood leaning against the doorway, a slightly bemused expression on his face and arms folded across his chest. "Do you want to do this?" He asked.

Leo nodded. He went to stand in the middle of the room.

Raph shrugged and walked into the room. He got into a stance.

They waited a couple seconds before lunging at each other.

He had improved. Leo could tell within seconds. Raph had a hell of a lot more skill to go with the extra strength he had acquired over the last year or so. He was now a formidable enough opponent that it took all of his concentration to block his attacks.

Leo leapt away again, his eyes guarded and calculating as they stalemated and circled each other.

Raph finally had an expression on his face that wasn't bored. His eyes gleamed. A toothy grin arched across his face as he lunged at Leo again.

Leo avoided the hit, then decided to switch to the offensive. He attacked back, raining a couple blows on Raph's arms and chest before lithely jumping away. He kept up that approach until he was able to connect solidly with Raph's chest and send him sailing against the wall.

He stood and waited.

He expected Raph to come up mad. Instead he came up with a smile as he ran a hang across the back of his mouth. "Good one," He complimented.

"You done?" Leo asked.

Raph shook his head. "I'm good," He replied as he squared off again.

Leo didn't reply. He was beginning to get tired, but he could go another round. He dropped into a stance as well.

They went for longer this time, until they were out of breath and exhaustion was beginning to set in. Neither was able to gain advantage over the other, that is, until Raph let down his guard for half a second and Leo sent him flying across the room again. He felt relieved when Raph landed on his shell instead of his feet. He needed a break.

He watched as Raph struggled to get back to his feet. He was breathing heavily, but he took a fighting stance anyway.

Leo frowned. "Okay, we're..." He stopped himself abruptly, realizing that he sounded angry and that he had no reason too. Raph hadn't done anything wrong, in fact he was doing everything right for once. "We're done," he finished in a much calmer voice.

Raph raised an eyebrow ridge and shook his head. "I can go another round," He replied matter of factly.

Leo looked at him for a moment, then rolled his eyes, annoyed. "Alright, fine." He said.

Raph charged at him and, as they fought, Leo could finally see the side of his brother that he grew up with. Now he was fighting with passion, with fire, the part of him that hated to loose bubbling to the surface. His eyes had turned dark, his teeth were clenched in concentration, and his blows carried more weight to them.

Leo knew it was time to end their sparring session NOW, and adjusted his attacks appropriately. One blow to the side of his head, then the other and Raph should have gone down, but he didn't. Instead he launched himself at the other with a growl. Suddenly Leo found himself pinned with a developing headache, and in a sick parody of the same position Raphael had him in two weeks before. Except this time it was Raph's fist that was less than an inch away from his head and not his sai.

There was a strange look in Raph's eyes as he stared down at him. It wasn't the same as back then, no, but recognization shone in them.

"Huh," the larger turtle said as he shifted his weight, taking the pressure off of Leo's chest. He lifted the one hand slightly, fist uncurling to press his hand to the side of Leo's face. "You okay?" He asked, eyeridges pressed together with concern.

"I'm fine," Leo said as he let Raphael help him into a seated position. They sat beside each other and just _breathed_ for a while. "Next time I say we're done, we're done." Leo said finally, with no heat or anger to his voice. He was tired, and didn't have the energy to argue with Raph, which he would end up doing if he yelled at him.

Raphael glanced at him momentarily, a wide range of emotions going through his expressive brown eyes. They settled on confusion. He frowned as he reached out and placed a hand on Leo's shoulder. Leo stared, wondering what the hell was going through Raph's head. He didn't have long to wonder because Raph's hand darted up and grabbed him by the back of his neck. He pressed his beak to his brother's, hard, in an obscene parody of a human kiss.

If it had been any other brother Leo would have known what to do. If it had been Mikey he would have expected the other to pull away and laugh at the expression on his face, with his eyes dancing with glee. Or tears, since with Mikey that was a possibility too. If it was Don, he would have expected some sort of in-depth personal explanation of why he had just done that and finally silence as the other turtle went off to deal with his feelings in pained silence, like usual. But Raphael…

The kiss couldn't have lasted longer than a second or so, but it still made him break into a cold sweat. When Raph pulled away again he searched his eyes for something… anything…

Raph held his gaze impassively for a long moment. At first there was nothing there. Then it changed, and not in a good way. Anger snapped in those eyes as they narrowed at Leo. Leo's mouth fell open in stunned protest. "Raph…what?"

Raph didn't reply. Instead he got up and silently left the room.

Leonardo scrambled to his feet. He was in time to hear Mikey's sleepy voice drift out from the main room. "Is everything okay?" He asked. "We heard you guys sparring and then you got quiet."

Leo emerged from the dojo in time to catch the tail end of Mikey's question. Mikey stood by the entrance of the tunnel that led to his room, looking more than a little worried.

Raph shook his head. "We're fine." He said. He shot a look back at Leo. "Right Leo?" He said significantly. His eyes narrowed and Leonardo blinked back at him, still horribly confused.

"We're fine Mikey," He said, tearing his eyes away from Raphael's to give his little brother a calm, patient smile. He made a show of rubbing his bicep, pretending to be working out a sore muscle. "Just getting some kinks out. Go back to sleep."

Mikey didn't look too convinced but still, reluctantly, turned around went back to his room. They both waited in silence until they heard the sound of him walking around his multitudes of stuff, having to do ninja-like maneuvers to even get close to his bed.

Once Mikey wasn't listening any more, Leonardo stalked up to Raphael. "What the hell was that all about?" He demanded to know in a fierce whisper.

Raphael shook his head, a look of contempt crossing his face. "You wouldn't understand." He said. He walked past Leo and went for the back door. "I'm going out," He announced.

"Raph wait," Leo began, making a move towards him, but it was already too late. The steel door slid closed again with an odd thump of finality.

For a long moment Leonardo just stood there, frustrated at Raph's behaviour. He breathed deeply and forced the frustration back, instead dwelling on what he was going to do about the entire situation. He could just ignore Raph, like usual, and let him do his own thing. It wasn't like they had an enemy to fight right then anyway, at least not until the Foot made their next move. Master Splinter was asleep so it wasn't like he was going to wake up and send Leo off to find Raphael either.

He knew very well it was usually it was best just to let Raph be when he got like this. The only thing was… this time his brother's actions actually had something to do with him. He brought a hand up to press his fingers against his mouth. He kissed him… and then he got angry at him for some reason. For what, not kissing back?

Leo shook his head. No, he definitely needed to talk to him and force some sort of explanation out of him. He grabbed his swords and headed out the same way Raph had.

-

Raphael didn't want to be found. Leonardo found himself relying more on instinct and smell than anything else as he silently weaved his way through the sewer tunnels.

He had almost decided to give up and go back to the lair when he found him, mostly by accident. The pipeline he was in opened up into a drainage center. Here a two story drop was surrounded by railed platforms were humans could walk during the once a decade they had to be in the sewers for maintenance. It was louder here, the sound of running water consistent with several mini waterfalls. He knew this place would be so loud it'd be hard to think straight after a rainstorm, but they hadn't had one of those for a couple days, leaving the noise at a bearable level.

Raph was leaning against the railing to the right of him, looking out over the pooling water. Leo watched him from the shadows for a of couple seconds before backtracking. He didn't want to be seen as he weaved back into the network of tunnels and reemerged directly behind Raphael.

His brother didn't move as he approached him quietly.

"Hey…" He began cautiously once he was a few feet away.

The only way he could tell that Raphael had heard him was from the way he stiffened ever so slightly. He was silent… he had heard Leo… he just wasn't reacting to him.

"Raph please," He said, coming up a long side the other. He heaved a sigh and looked out over the water as well. "Let's talk about this…"

Raphael shook his head once, sharply. "There ain't nothing to talk about Leo." He said.

Leo turned his head and looked at him. "Yes there is…"

The blow would have caught him in the stomach if he hadn't been prepared for some sort of outburst. He flipped out of the way and landed in a crouch as Raph turned around. Raph looked pissed. Again, that wasn't unexpected. "You are so stupid, you know that?" the larger turtle ranted, pointing at him accusingly. "You think you can just disappear for over a year and come back and everything's going to be just fine?"

Leonardo stood up slowly, frowning as he did so. "I thought we were fine now!" He said, a bit plaintively. "What changed?"

Raphael didn't reply for a moment, until a sarcastic smile twisted at the corner of his mouth. "Absolutely nothing Leo. Go back to your dutiful boring existence and leave me alone."

Leonardo frowned. "You know I can't do that Raph." His voice rose ever so slightly. "If this is going to be a problem…."

His brother laughed at that. He turned away suddenly, back to the water, but not before Leo caught the pained expression on his face. What?

Raphael was silent for a couple seconds before he spoke. "I ain't going ta question your orders, if that is what you're worried about Leo," He said. HeRaHE HRE

paused significantly, then continued. "And I ain't going to hurt no one." He flexed an arm muscle, then turned his head to give Leo a particularly odd look, one that looked half sad, half resigned. "Nevermind." He said softly. "You wouldn't understand."

Leo considered for a moment, before setting his jaw and darting forwards. He moved quickly, pressing his mouth to Raphael's briefly like the other had done to him earlier, then jumping back and away again.

He was betting this would at least make Raphael react in someway…

Sure enough Raphael sputtered for a second or so, his eyes wide. That shocked look lasted about a second before his eyeridges flew together. He let out a growl as he pushed away from the railing and stepped forwards. Leo stood his ground… barely. Raphael got right into his face and all he wanted to do was back up a step. "Don't TEMPT me," He hissed.

Leo forced himself to meet Raphael's gaze calmly. "How long have you felt this way?" He asked, folding his arms across his chest.

His attempt to bate Raphael didn't work. Raph's eyes became shielded and he turned away. "I don't wanna talk about it." He said. He took a couple steps back and looked over the guard rail again.

Leo gritted his teeth briefly, dropping his arms and clenching his fists. He was so difficult…

"Raph come on." He said, fighting to keep his voice as calm as possible and failing a bit. "We need to deal with this NOW before it becomes an even bigger issue later on," Now all he was getting was Raph's tense shoulders and backside again.

He took a deep breath and changed tactics. "Look," He stepped forwards, approaching cautiously. "I don't care if you feel this way," He was lying, he did, he actually felt kind of sick about it. However how he felt about it didn't really matter right now. "Let me help you."

The silence between them grew. He almost thought Raph wasn't going to reply when he let out a little laugh, a quick wounded sound. "Somehow," He grumbled. "I don't think you can or want to help me with this Leo," the sarcasm was thick in his voice.

"Let me try?" Leo asked hopefully.

Raphael was silent, though Leo could see the twitch of his arm as his grip tightened on the railing. Leonardo waited for him to explode. He didn't have to wait very long… but he was confused when Raphael tilted his head back and laughed again. He expected angry confessions, or another attack, not…

Oh boy…

"You are so fucking perfect," Raphael took a step towards him and, involuntarily, Leonardo took a step back. He stood his ground on the next step, and the next, until Raphael was merely inches away from him. "You can't possibly convince me that you are completely okay with me doing this…" The larger turtle reached out, running a hand along the side of his face until he had reached the back of Leo's neck. Leonardo schooled a flinch and focused on being hyperaware of everything Raph was doing in case he had to suddenly fend off an attack. He didn't trust Raph not to turn on him suddenly.

Apparently attacking him wasn't what Raphael had in mind. Instead the hand along the back of his neck suddenly fumbled for and gripped the ties to his mask. Raph tugged on them gently. Leo let his head be turned slightly in the direction that Raph was indicating, more curious than anything of why Raph wanted him to move his head to the side… oh.

As soon as he had exposed his throat Raphael dropped his down and touched his mouth to the tender skin. Leo suppressed a startled gasp, bringing his hands up to press against Raph's biceps. He didn't push him away… not yet away. Raph wasn't hurting him or anything, so he let him continue, more out of wonder that Raph was actually nipping at his neck in a way that, for all intents and purposes, should be considered sexual. It was… interesting.

Raphael pulled away again and for a moment Leonardo thought he was done. Not so… instead Raph pushed him backwards, maneuvering him so he was pressed up against a wall. As soon as he was trapped there he pressed his entire front up against Leo's. He ran his hands down Leo's arms to finally grip his wrists and push his arms back against the wall.

It was about then that Leo realized, as the other turtle lifted his head and met his eyes, that Raph was absolutely serious.

_Now _he felt something. He felt a faint thrill of fear and… something else move through him as he stared back at Raphael.

"How far are you going to let me go?" Raph asked him quietly. He had a half smirk on his face, but Leo could see honest curiosity in his eyes.

When Leonardo didn't reply, that smirk grew dark. He made a little "heh" sound and lowered his head again. Leo moved his head up almost involuntarily, then cursed himself mentally at giving Raph an open invitation. Sure enough he felt teeth nibble against his sensitive flesh before dropping lower. His breath caught as Raph kissed and licked his way down his plastron. His breathing grew ragged as Raphael finally crouched and nipped gently at the bottom of his shell, dangerously close to…

It took concentrated effort for him to keep himself tucked up inside his shell, and only the knowledge that Raph would know exactly how much this was affecting him gave him the willpower to keep himself inside.

But he knew if he let him continue…

It was when he felt Raph's mouth against his upper thigh that he knew he wasn't going to be able to control himself much longer. "Raph stop." He ordered quietly. He didn't and instead Leo felt something warm and wet against the front of his tail, dangerously close to… "Raph stop!" he said, jerking his hands free and pushing Raphael away abruptly. It caused the other turtle to sprawl out in front of him and he stared down at him.

Raphael laughed as he stood, running a hand along the back of his mouth as he did so. "I was wondering when you'd finally snap." He chuckled.

Leo just concentrated on breathing and keeping alert as he inspected his most volatile brother out of new and wary eyes.

In return Raph's gaze was assessing. Finally he seemed to decide and lowered his chin, smirk growing. "Don't worry," He said, taking a step back towards Leo. "I'm not gonna hurt you."

Leonardo stared. He almost didn't move in time to avoid a lunge Raph made for him. He lept away from the wall and flipped past him, out towards the walkway. He took several steps back, only to realize he was up against the guardrail and couldn't move any further in that direction either.

He glanced over the side then looked back and squared his shoulders. "Raph, look," He started, trying to sound as logical as possible. "We can't just do this… we… uh…" He trailed off when he caught sight of the look Raph was giving him, a predatory expression that made every instinct within him scream at him to RUN...

"Why not Leo?" Raphael asked as he walked towards him deliberately. "What are you afraid of?" His eyes glittered dangerously, and Leo suddenly found himself desperately wishing for the part of Raphael that made sense to him, the part that hated him and only approached him with corrosive anger. Seductive Raph was frightening, and, for some reason, had left him with the inability to do anything except stare with incredulous disbelief. He wondered for half a second if Raphael had ever tried this on a human…

His brother had reached him and Leo tightened his grip on the railing involuntarily. Raph smiled at him as he continued, reaching out towards him with a single hand. "Come on Leo," He said, sidling close to him and running a finger tip down his chest. "Relax… you might actually enjoy it."

"I can't believe…" Leonardo's brain was slowly edging towards overload, his breath had quickened into tiny little gasps. Especially when those wayward fingers crept lower…

He continued to stare at Raph, half afraid, half aroused, as Raph's hand crept along the underside of his shell…

"Raph! I… you can't…!" He tried to get out, his words choking in his throat as those fingers hit home, running along his tail.

"Let go Leo," Raph replied darkly, and now Leo felt fear. He brought his hands up to press against Raph's arms as the stroking on his tail became more insistent. Raphael leaned in closer so he was only an inch or so from his ear as he spoke. "Let go…" He whispered enticingly. "I promise you'll like it."

He managed a strangled groan as he gave in and let himself drop down. A triumphant look that flashed across Raphael's face at this revelation. That capable hand instantly encircled him and began to move, causing Leonardo's knees to buckle. He went down and Raphael went with him.

For a moment Raph lay on top of him, watching his reactions avidly as his hand continued to work. Suddenly he smiled again and slid down him, disappearing from Leo's field of view.

Raphael's hand left him and briefly Leonardo felt the sense of loss. That is, until he felt Raphael's mouth engulf him. A cry gurgled up from his throat as his hands flew to the top of Raphael's head. That huge tongue and mouth licked and swallowed until he was practically sobbing. It felt so good that he barely noticed the thick finger pressed against his entrance, fighting to get in. He stifled a whine as it entered him, but then it stayed there, not moving and Raphael continued to pay attention to him elsewhere. It was only after Leo's attention was diverted that he tried to push the finger in further, stopping every little bit to distract him again. Soon it felt like he had his entire finger in there, right up to the knuckle.

He was insane. He knew he should fight Raph off, but his brain didn't appear to be working properly anymore. He felt sick but he also felt excited, and he felt like there was something horribly wrong with him as he realized that he would end up letting Raph do whatever he wanted to him, up to and including…

His breath caught in his throat. He knew what that meant even before Raphael finally pulled away to slide back up his body.

Raph replaced his mouth with his hand and instead went back to work on Leo's neck as he lay on top of him. Leo felt one thick dart of fear go through him as Raphael moved away from his neck to brace himself with one hand above Leo, the other hand still firmly between their two bodies.

He met his brother's eyes and probably would have cringed away if Raph had been giving him a mean look, but instead his brother was gazing at him with a hint of concern on his face. He could feel him fumbling down below with his other hand, and with his…

His head fell back and his teeth clenched as Raphael hit home. Raph stilled instantly at the look of pain on Leo's face, stopping while barely inside. "You okay?" He asked, his voice thick. Leonardo nodded and shut his eyes tightly as the other started to move.

Raphael was gentle enough, surprisingly, though he really didn't know what he was supposed to be expecting. They continued like that for a bit until Raph suddenly shifted angles and brought both his hands up to grip Leo's shoulder's as he shoved into him, hard.

Leo's eyes flew open and he gasped. Raphael stopped again, his brow furrowed. "You still okay?" He asked in a strained voice.

Leonardo was more than okay. "Don't stop!" He groaned.

The cocky grin that arched across Raph's face was memorial. "Whatever you say oh fearless one," He replied. Leonardo only had a second to glare at him before Raph drove into him violently. He cried out, his head falling back as he gripped Raph's arms. All he could do was hold on as Raph sped up. Every thrust felt a bit like it was going to rend him in two, but it felt good as it hit something he hadn't even been aware was there. He leaned up and bit into Raph's shoulder, causing the other to grunt as his movements became shorter and quicker. Suddenly Leo let go with his teeth, mouth open to let out an inarticulate yell as his senses overloaded. When he came back down, numb with shock and incredibly sated he watched with amazement as Raphael panted and shuddered his way through his own release.

Wow, he thought wonderingly. That was something he had never seen before. The vulnerable open look on Raphael face was incredibly different than the hurt anger and hatred that he had seen for so many years. He reached up, almost despite himself, and pressed a hand to the side of his face as Raph gasped for breath. Raphael's eyes widened in shock before he smiled at him, kindly at that, no longer smirking or giving him an angry look. For a couple seconds at least Leonardo saw genuine affection in his eyes… like how he saw him give Mikey on occasion, Don rarely, but never ever him.

"Raph?" He questioned.

Raphael let out a little chuckle and rolled to the side suddenly, bringing Leo with him. When they stopped moving Leo realized he was lying across the chest of a still panting Raphael. One of his brother's arms was draped across his shoulders, holding him in place. For a moment Leo considered fighting to sit up before deciding that he was okay. He relaxed by degrees, laying his head against Raph's chest, listening to the sound of him chuckle.

"What is it?" He asked tiredly, amazed at how exhausted he felt.

"You," Was the rumbled reply. Raph's grip on his shoulders tightened for a second before relaxing and Leonardo vaguely recognized that as a comforting gesture. "You're absolutely fucking amazing," He said.

Leonardo made a noncommittal sound. His eyes were focused on the dark circle of the sewer in front of his face and he felt no need to do anything but look at it right then.

"We can't tell anyone," He said finally, with a little sigh. If Splinter, or any one, really, found out about this…

Raphael was silent at that and he could feel his brother tense. "An' who am I going to tell Leo?" Raph asked tersely. "Casey?" The sarcasm in his voice was thick.

Leo sat up to look at his brother's face. Sure enough Raphael was scowling at him. "I know you probably won't," He said. He really didn't want to have to explain this to everyone. It really was better if they kept it between the both of them… but he didn't want Raphael to be upset at him about it either. "I was just making sure." He muttered.

The look on Raph's face slowly softened and finally he sighed. "I ain't gonna tell no-one Leo." He said. "Stop worrying." He was silent for a moment more before he reached out towards Leo. Leo wasn't able to stop from flinching in time, but pressed his cheek back to the hand when he realized Raphael wasn't going to attack him. Even so a thinking frown developed across Raphael's face as he stroked Leo's cheek with his thumb.

"You don't like being touched." The red clad turtle said finally, changing the subject.

Leonardo shook his head slightly.

Raphael looked curious. "Why didn't I know that about you?" He asked, half to himself.

Leo pulled away, feeling uncomfortable. "It's not a big deal," He said, sitting back on his heels.

Raph sat up as well. "I didn't say it was a big deal," He replied. "I just didn't know you didn't like it."

Leo managed a bit of a sheepish grin at that. "Habit I guess." He said finally. "Can't let my guard down."

Raphael let out a little snort as he looked at his brother, his gaze assessing. "Maybe letting your guard down from time to time would be good for you," He said.

"Like concentrating on your training would be good for you?" Leo returned, just as fast.

A smirk toyed at the corner of Raph's mouth. "Heh," He said. He didn't seem to take any offense for once. Instead he shuffled backwards a bit, until he hit the concrete wall and sat against it, relaxing with his head back. For a moment or so Leo hesitated, then shuffled over and sat beside him. They sat there in amicable silence for a while, both listening to the sound of water below them and the occasional passing of a subway off in the distance.

Leo hadn't realized exactly HOW exhausted he was until he felt a hand on his shoulder, shaking him awake. It was Raph. He just looked at him, confused, before realizing where they were. They were still sitting beside each other against the wall. He wondered, briefly, if he was dreaming, because Raph was giving him a caring look… that never happened. Then he remembered what had happened between them and blinked, a bit surprised and a bit embarrassed.

…. OH.

The kind look on Raph's face didn't change as he got to his feet and offered his hand. "Come on, fearless leader," He said. "Let's get you home."

For a moment Leonardo just looked at the proffered hand before smiling and letting Raphael pull him to his feet.

------

END


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